Copyright Policy for Archives&Special Collections

Copyright Policy for Archives & Special Collections

Duplication

According to provisions of the Copyright Law of the United States, under certain conditions, libraries and archives may provide photocopies or other reproductions of materials to individuals for research and private study (link to copyright notice). Copies may not be transferred to another individual or organization without notifying the Archives and Special Collections Librarian. Duplication in no way transfers either copyright or property rights, nor does it constitute permission to publish, display or rebroadcast in excess of "Fair Use." The Archives reserves the right to deny requests for duplication if doing so would put material at risk of damage, would violate restrictions placed by the donor, or would violate privacy statutes.

Copyright

Although the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Archives and Special Collections physically owns all archival and manuscript materials in its possession, it does not necessarily own the intellectual property rights (copyright) associated with all items (Title 17, Chapter 2, Section 202, "Ownership of copyright as distinct from ownership of material object). Patrons should consult with the Archives and Special Collections Librarian for information on copyright ownership on a case-by-case basis.

The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Archives and Special Collections is not responsible in cases of infringement. It is the responsibility of the publisher, producer, or exhibitor to obtain the necessary permissions.

When the determination is made that the University of Massachusetts is the copyright owner, requests to publish, broadcast or display materials from the archival collections should be made either in writing to or by submitting a completed "Permission to Publish" form to the Archives and Special Collections Librarian, University Library, 285 Old Westport Road, North Dartmouth, MA 02648.

Permission to publish, rebroadcast, or exhibit is granted for one-time use only. Material may not be reused or transferred to another party without written permission from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Archives and Special Collections.

The Archives and Special Collections Librarian retains the right to assess a publication or broadcast fee in the case of commercial projects.

Credit Line

Regardless of copyright status, the Archives and Special Collections should be credited for the use of all materials in their physical possession. The following credit line should be used:

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Library Archives and Special Collections

Additionally, certain collections should be credited as follows:

• Archives of the Center for Jewish Culture, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Library Archives and Special Collections.
• Robert F. Kennedy Assassination Archives, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Library Archives and Special Collections.

Reference practice

At the time of request for duplication, the Archives and Special Collections staff will have patrons sign a "Procedures to request photo duplication or reproduction of archival materials" form stating that they understand copyright restrictions.

For possible publication or rebroadcast of the copy supplied, patrons will be given a form to "Request to Publish, Display or Rebroadcast Archival Materials," which should be returned to the Archives and Special Collections Librarian for the unit's records.

Records of patron requests will be retained indefinitely.

Notice of copyright will be posted at all microfilm and photocopy machines.

Notice of copyright as well as the credit line will be affixed to all copies supplied to patrons.

Staff should be aware of the duration of copyright protection on both published and unpublished materials to make a determination on public domain status (The Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, P.L. 105-298, October 27, 1998). Works in the public domain may be published, displayed or rebroadcast without the permission of the author.

A statement of known copyright status will be included on each publicly accessible finding aid or collection inventory.

Collection Development Practice

The Archives and Special Collections Librarian will make every attempt to acquire intellectual property rights when the physical ownership of unpublished material is transferred to the unit. This will be accomplished through a statement on the deed of gift (Title 17, Chapter 2, section 201, d, "Transfer of ownership"). Staff should be aware, however, that the individual or organization transferring physical ownership of materials might not have the legal right to transfer the intellectual property rights (an example would be correspondence received by a donor; copyright is owned by the author of the letter, not the recipient).

Individual ownership of intellectual property rights does not apply to the transfer of records created by employees and officers of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth ("Works for Hire," Title 17, Chapter 2, Section 201 (b)).

Deed of gift and other legal documents will be retained permanently in the control files maintained for each collection received.

Audiovisual Material - Collection and Access

Sound recordings

The Archives and Special Collections follows the "Guidelines for Educational Uses of Music" to the extent that they would apply, in addition to Title 17 of the United States Code, the copyright law. There will be no duplication of commercial or otherwise copyrighted recordings in the possession of the archives, as this is prohibited in Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 108. These recordings are retained for research use only and serve as reference material accompanying manuscript collections. Duplication of recordings of musical performances, that occurred on University of Massachusetts Dartmouth property may be duplicated for research purposes, on a limited basis, at the discretion of the Archives and Special Collections Librarian. Rebroadcast or reissue for commercial purposes is prohibited. In the case of archival recordings of a performance on University of Massachusetts Dartmouth property, Archives staff should attempt to obtain confirmation that both a performance license (required to publicly perform a copyrighted work) and a mechanical rights license (required to fix that performance on tape) was obtained at the time of recording. Information about the copyright holder should be obtained at the time of acquisition, if possible, and clearly stated on the label. Retention of off-air sound recordings (radio broadcasts) follow the same retention guidelines as video recordings, as spelled out in the "Guidelines for Off-Air Recordings of Broadcast Programming for Educational Purposes (Congressional Record, October 14, 1981, p. E4751)."

Video recordings

The Archives and Special Collections follows the "Guidelines for Off-Air Recordings of Broadcast Programming for Educational Purposes (Congressional Record, October 14, 1981, p. E4751)." Only legally acquired broadcast recordings, or those whose permission to retain them have been secured, may be kept indefinitely in the collection. Videotapes of events, which occurred on University of Massachusetts Dartmouth property, will be retained permanently in the collection as university records, and are considered University property if taped using university owned equipment by university staff. Duplicates of the latter will be supplied for research purposes only. Permission to rebroadcast must be obtained from the Archives and Special Collections Librarian and possibly from the subject of the taping. There will be NO duplication of commercial or otherwise copyrighted recordings in the possession of the archives.

Archival recordings of Campus events

Performance of non-dramatic literary or musical works that took place on campus, and resulted in no personal financial gain (such as Eisteddfod) are exempt from performance fees (Title 17, Section 110 (4) (B)) if the performers or promoters were not paid. Sound and video recordings of these performances, supplied by the Archives to patrons for research purposes, or to a university employee for viewing by other university employees or students, would be considered secondary transmissions, and exempted from copyright infringement (Title 17, Section 111 (5)). Rebroadcast for profit would be considered an infringement and should be cleared with the University lawyer, and/or with the permission of the presenter(s) or performer(s).

Archival recordings of news broadcasts, RFK Assassination Archives

Libraries and Archives are allowed to make and distribute a limited number of copies of a news broadcast as exempted under Section 108 (h). Recordings of excerpts from talk shows and documentaries, however, are subject to copyright protection, and should not be copied for patrons. Psychological Test Collection Photocopying of standardized tests and test booklets is not considered fair use, and therefore is prohibited. The copyright statement appears in individual test booklets (citation and further clarification pending).

News clipping collections

The Archives and Special Collections receives numerous collections of newspaper clippings, from a variety of news sources, compiled by individual donors, reflecting the history of an ethnic group or organization. The Archives also receives the clippings collected by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Office of News and Public Information reflecting a chronological history of the campus. Additionally, the RFK Assassination Archives collection contains a number of clippings collected by private investigators, and by the FBI and LAPD investigative units. Many of the latter are annotated, and may be considered part of the public record of the investigation.

Newspaper articles published 95 years ago and earlier are in the public domain and no longer subject to copyright. Articles published less than 95 years ago are subject to copyright. The Archives staff is allowed to copy news clippings onto acid free paper for preservation purposes. Patrons should be directed to the original newspaper or periodical when possible. The Archives and Special Collections, as policy, will not actively collect newspaper articles for the convenience of patrons.

Architectural works

Architectural drawings and blueprints fall under the category of graphic works. The are not included in Section 108 of Title 17, which allows for certain types of copying by libraries and archives (see h). Copyright of blueprints and drawings of a building constructed are considered works for hire, and are therefore the property of the hiring institution (Chapter 2, section 201, b). Copyright of drawings and blueprints of buildings not constructed are the property of the architect. Architectural illustrations that accompany text may be copied along with the text under the guidelines of fair use. Since Paul Rudolph's designs for buildings on the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth campus were not constructed from his drawings, except for Group I, he probably retains copyright on some drawings in the possession of the Archives and Special Collections. See the Architectural works Copyright Protection Act, Pub. L. 101-650, 104 Stat. 5089, 5133 (1990) (codified at various sections 17 U.S.C.).

UMD Theses

UMD theses are submitted as partial fulfillment of a graduate degree requirement and as such are official records of the university. The library maintains 2 copies permanently - one as a circulating copy within the general collections, and one as an archival copy, in the Archives and Special Collections. Since 1990 degree candidates have signed a form granting the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth the non-exclusive right to use the work for the purpose of making single copies of the work available to the public on a not-for-profit basis if the University's circulating copy is lost or destroyed. Although the university owns the physical copy of the thesis, it does not claim ownership of the intellectual property contained therein.

Regardless of whether this statement appears in the thesis, under the guidelines of fair use, library staff may make ONE complete facsimile copy of a thesis or dissertation for a patron, upon receipt of the proper fees, as long as it is understood that it will be used for research purposes only. See Title 17, Section 108, (e)" "The rights of reproduction and distribution under this section apply to the entire work, or to a substantial part of it, … if the library or archives has first determined, on the basis of a reasonable investigation, that a copy or phonorecord of the copyrighted work cannot be obtained at a fair price …" Given that the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth owns the only copies of each thesis and dissertation, copies cannot be obtained at a fair price outside the university.

It should be noted that if PhD dissertations become available through University Microfilms International or another vendor in the future, this policy might change, since they will then be available at a reasonable price to the patron.

Fair use allows for photocopying of a small portion of a copyrighted work (up to 75%), whether by the patron or by library staff, at the request of the patron, regardless of its availability at a reasonable price.

Any other intended use of a thesis, beyond research purposes, should be with the written permission of the author, regardless of the existence of the standard permission statement. There is no exception to this rule.

Sources:

Robert Cogswell. Copyright Law for Unpublished Manuscripts and Archival Collections. A Law Library Information Report, Vol. 14. Glanville Publications, 1992.

Mary Jo Pugh. Providing Reference Services for Archives and Manuscripts. Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 1992.

Laura N. Gasaway and Sarah K. Wiant. Libraries and Copyright: A Guide to Copyright Law in the 1990s. Washington, DC: Special Libraries Association, 1994.

United States Code, 1994 Edition, Containing the General and Permanent laws of the United States, in Force on January 4, 1995, Vol. 8, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1995.

Revised 1/01 JF